If I Stay
by TeenTitansFanForever02
Summary: (No, this has nothing to do with the book/movie of the same name.) Dipper decides to stay in Gravity Falls to be Ford's apprentice. Mabel promises that she'll be alright... A little white lie never hurt anyone...right?
1. Chapter 1

**I know, I know, I should be working on 'Highschool' but this is a plot bunny that hasn't left my head until I typed it...so here's a new story that I WILL FINISH**

 **Enjoy :)**

* * *

"I'll do it. I'm gonna stay." Dipper says as he sticks his hand out for his Great Uncle Ford to take it. Ford smiles.

"Excellent!" He grabs Dipper's hand and gets out of the ditch. "Now, who wants to save the world, _apprentice_?" Both of them laugh as they walk back towards the Mystery Shack.

* * *

Mabel stares in horror at the walkie-talkie in her hands. Her bottom lip trembles. This truly _was_ the worst day of her life. She has to say good bye to her friends, her Grunkles, all these wonderful adventures…and now her best friend, her other half; Dipper. This was too much for the poor girl to handle. She felt tears spring to the corners of her eyes and roll down her cheeks.

She stumbled to her bed and curled up on her side, the walkie-talkie still in her hands. Barely five minutes later she heard the door open and she could tell Dipper was excited about something by the tone of his voice.

"Mabel! I just had the _best day_ of my life! UFO's are real and there's one under the town and I saved Grunkle Ford's life and- and…" His voice faded as he noticed the state his sister was in. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Tell me it's not true… Tell me you were joking!" She cried, showing him the walkie-talkie. His eyes widened. "Ford's _apprentice_? Really?" This wasn't exactly the reaction he was hoping for. She looked at him with longing eyes, begging for an explanation.

"Look, I was thinking and…this is a _huge_ opportunity for me." He tried to reason with her.

"Well it's a horrible opportunity for _me_!" She had tears in her eyes. She jumped off the bed and walked a little in front of him. "I just had the _worst_ day of my life. When we turn thirteen, summer ends and I have to leave everything behind! You're the only person I could count on and now _you're_ leaving me too?!" She walked closer towards her scrapbook on the floor.

"Look…I've been thinking about it. I won't be gone forever, okay? I'll still visit you at home, and we'll chat online…we'll make it work!" He tried again to reason with her, his voice slightly hopeful.

"I don't want it to work!" Mabel said miserably, sitting down next to her scrapbook "I just wish summer could last forever…"

"But it can't Mabel," Dipper said, a bit sadly. He walked over to her and sat next to her, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Look, things aren't gonna stay frozen this way. It's part of growing up. Things change…summer ends." He thought this was a good idea at first, but now that he was hearing himself say it out loud he realized that he didn't want his childhood to end. Mabel looked at him with tears in her eyes; she let out a strangled sob, pulled out of Dipper's grip, grabbed her backpack and ran out of the shack. Dipper quickly got over his shock, stood up and ran toward the door. "Mable wait! I didn't mean it like that. Mabel, come back!" If she heard him, she didn't show it for she kept running. Dipper sighed. He wanted to go after her but she probably wanted to be alone. He figured he'd help Ford with the rift first and then go get Mabel.

After all…

It's not like this would take long.

* * *

 **Lol mini cliff hanger :3  
I apologize for the shortness...I have a horrible tendency of writing 500 word first chapters. Don't worry! The next chapter will be longer...and out (hopefully) by next week. I won't be home this weekend so I can't type ;_; but by...let's say Wednesday...chapter 2 should be up. It's already half written so yeah it really shouldn't be long XD  
** **Anyway, (if you want) leave a review telling me what you think so far. :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey look I updated on time for once. :3 Enjoy!**

* * *

 _It took all night._

Countless trial and error…Dipper was vaguely surprised they hadn't wasted all of the sealant.

Half asleep, Dipper slowly walked up the stairs to his and Mabel's room. He glanced at the clock…2:35am. He sighed and collapsed into bed. He muttered, "Goodnight, Mabel." Surprised that he didn't get a response back, he briefly thought that she was already asleep. It _was_ past 2:30 after all. However those suspicions were crushed as he looked over at her bed and found it empty, untouched since this morning. He wondered where she was and then it hit him. He shot up in a sitting position. He was _much_ more awake now. He quickly jumped out of bed, threw his vest and shoes on and ran out the door in the direction he saw Mabel run out earlier. " _I'm such an idiot! How could I forget about my_ sister _?!_ " He mentally kicked himself and ran faster.

Thankfully, there was a full moon out tonight and not a single cloud in the sky; he could see where he was going.

It didn't take long before he found her. Dried tear streaks on her cheeks, clutching their 13th birthday poster. She had fallen asleep, curled up on her side. Dipper shivered, he hadn't realized how cold it was when he ran outside but now that the adrenaline had worn off he regretted not bringing a jacket. He looked down at Mabel again; she was also shivering but much worse than he was. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that she was okay, apart from the fact that she had been crying. He kneeled down beside her and shook her shoulder. "Mabel…wake up." She stirred but wasn't fully awake yet so he shook her again. Her eyes opened slowly.

"Dipper..?" She asked as she sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, her voice hoarse.

"You okay?" He asked, just to make sure. She looked up at him, apparently finally registering in her foggy with sleep mind that this was indeed her brother. Remembering their conversation from earlier she felt her throat tare and tears pool in her eyes, threatening dangerously to spill over. "Mabel..?" He asked once he saw her eyes glisten in the moonlight more than they should. She put her arms around his neck and silently cried into his shoulder.

"Don't leave me…" She murmured shakily. Her voice was so small and sad that Dipper almost cried himself. He hugged her back, he felt her tremble slightly but he couldn't decide if it was just from the cold or not. Either way it made him hug her a little tighter.

"I'm sorry…" He whispered.

* * *

After a few minutes Mabel had calmed down enough to stand up and go back to the Shack. She was still shivering badly when she got into bed, even under three blankets. So Dipper took the thickest of his and draped it over her. That seemed to help at least a little. Waddles was sleeping at the foot of her bed and Dipper knew she wouldn't wake him up even though she clearly needed something to cuddle. She still looked depressed and Dipper couldn't help but feel horrible, it was his fault she was so upset.

She seemed to notice his distress as she forced a smile and said, "Hey, it's okay bro-bro. We can talk about it in the morning. Go to sleep, you look exhausted." Dipper looked at the clock, 3:13am. He sighed and walked over to his bed and climbed in. Though his mind was racing and flooded with guilt, he found himself falling asleep _much_ faster than he usually does.

* * *

Dipper woke up pretty late, 11:30. He blamed it on everything that happened yesterday, he was still sore from the UFO crash landing thing. He stretched all the kinks out of his body, being careful as not to provoke his injuries, got dressed and went downstairs. He figured he missed breakfast so he poured himself a bowl of cereal. He'd just barely sat down when Mabel walked in the room. She sat at the table across from Dipper. "Hey." He said.

"Hey…" She seemed unsure of what she wanted to say.

Dipper watched her struggle with words for a moment before he put his spoon down and gave her his full attention. "Are you-?"

"Dipper, I'm really sorry," she cut him off. "It's not my decision if you stay or not, it's yours. I mean _of course_ I want you to come back with me, but…I want you to be happy. And if stayed here with Ford and Stan is what would make you happy…then stay." She forced a small smile. He stared at her in amazement, mouth agape.

"Mabel…are you sure?" She hesitated but eventually nodded.

"Positive." There was a pause and then Dipper got out of his chair, walked over to his sister and hugged her tight.

"Thanks." They both smiled. When they pulled away Mabel playfully punched his shoulder.

"Just remember to visit me you dork." He laughed.

"Of course. Now how about we start planning for that party?" Her eyes lit up but died down just as quick.

"But no one's gonna be there…"

"We can still have a good time. I'm sure Grunkle Stan won't mind what we do as long as we don't break anything…too badly. I think there are still some fireworks left over." He had a mischievous glint in his eyes. Mabel returned the look and smiled, a real genuine smile. Even though they would be separated after next week it didn't mean they couldn't have some fun until then.

* * *

 **Sorry, the ending is really sucky. I couldn't think of anything ;_; The next chapter will take a while for me to upload because I have NO IDEA what happens next. If you have any ideas of what could happen, they are highly appreciated.**

 **Review! (If you want) Tell me what you thought!**

 **Until next time! ;)**


End file.
